Ruoning Yin carded a final-round 66 in Scotland and came two shots short of matching Celine Boutier's four-day total of 15-under. But the People's Republic of China native's third-place finish pushed her up one spot to No. 4 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, tying the best ranking of her young career. Yin has four top-10 finishes this season, including wins at the DIO Implant LA Open and KPMG Women's PGA Championship. With a victory in this week's AIG Women's Open, the LPGA Tour sophomore would become just the second player to capture three victories in 2023 alongside Boutier and could walk away with some additional hardware as she is currently tied for second in the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award standings.
Three Earn Spot in Final Major
Nicole Broch Estrup, Sarah Kemp and Arpichaya Yubol earn spots in this week's AIG Women's Open with solid performances in Scotland. Broch Estrup notched a top-10 finish in only her first start this season at the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open presented by Trust Golf, having spent most of 2023 playing on the Ladies European Tour.
Sarah Kemp has had an up-and-down year thus far, only making nine cuts in 14 total starts. Regardless, the Australian has found some form as of late, posting an eighth-place finish at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with playing partner Alena Sharp and finishing in a tie for ninth in Scotland to earn one of the three exemptions that were available last week for this week's major.
Arpichaya Yubol rounds out the trio of players who earned last-minute exemptions this week after finishing T13 in Scotland. The LPGA Tour rookie notched her first career top 15 on tour with her finish at the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, moving her up 54 spots in the Rolex Rankings to No. 250. She also earned the final qualifying spot for the AIG Women's Open in the process. Yubol’s final two rounds of 68 (-4) and 69 (-3) in Scotland were good enough to help her climb the leaderboard and secure her spot in the last major of 2023.
New Faces in the Mix on Epson Tour
Jiwon Jeon collected her second Epson Tour title this past weekend at the French Lick Resort Charity Classic in French Lick, Ind., moving her from 10th to third in the Race for the Card standings. With the winner's check of $50,250, the Republic of Korea native has put herself in an excellent position to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2024, but with only eight events remaining this season, nothing is guaranteed.
Meanwhile, rookie Minji Kang collected her third straight top-10 finish on the Epson Tour this past weekend in French Lick. The 23-year-old appears to be peaking at the right time, quietly continuing to move up in the standings, most recently from 11th to 9th on the season-long money list.
USA Solheim Cup Standings Update
The Americans have a tight race for the final few guaranteed spots on this year's Solheim Cup team, with a chance for movement this week. Lexi Thompson holds a 51.5-point advantage over Andrea Lee for the seventh spot given to the top players in the Solheim Cup Standings. The two players currently qualified via Rolex Rankings are Rose Zhang (No. 32) and Angel Yin (No. 34), but Ally Ewing (No. 39) and Cheyenne Knight (No. 41) are close behind and are making their case for one of the three captain's picks will round out the 12-person team. Points are doubled at this week's AIG Women's Open, with 120 points awarded for the win. The United States team will be finalized on Aug. 28, 2023, following the CPKC Women's Open.
Europe Solheim Cup Standings Update
With her win at the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open, Celine Boutier moved from third to second in the European Solheim Cup points standings, joining Maja Stark in the top two spots heading into the season's final major championship. Linn Grant trails Boutier by less than 15 points for one of the automatic spots on the team. The Swede currently sits third in the standings and it’s the first time this year that Grant has not been in the top two. The six players currently qualified for Team Europe via the Rolex Rankings are Leona Maguire (No. 13), Georgia Hall (No. 15), Charley Hull (No. 16), Linn Grant (No. 19), Carlota Ciganda (No. 31) and assistant captain Anna Nordqvist (No. 37). LPGA Tour winner Madelene Sagstrom is just a spot behind Nordqvist at No. 38.
The European team will be finalized on Aug. 20, 2023, following the ISPS Handa World Invitational, with four captain's picks available in addition to the automatic qualifiers.
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